How to Choose the Car Seat Material for You

When you’re on the market for a new car, how much priority are you giving the interior? You’d be surprised, the interior materials can often be the little detail that makes or breaks a car purchase decision. Take a look at some of the most common interior seating and upholstery available today. Our goal: you will walk away with a much clearer picture of how to choose the car seat material for you. We take our discussion beyond common car seat materials like standard cloth and nylon upholstery.

Vinyl
Bull in a china shop? Good news. Vinyl is the holy grail of car seat materials for those who have a tendency toward unintended destruction. Spills and chills are no competition for vinyl, from whose surface almost all messes can be easily washed, then wiped away. On the other hand, vinyl is not the most comfortable seat material, and tends to enhance rather than buffer—the elements. As in, hot climate? Be sure to lay down a towel over the vinyl seat or you’ll literally be in the hot seat.

Although it’s not one of the most common car seat materials, like say standard cloth or nylon or even carbon fiber upholstery, vinyl is here to stay as it serves the purpose of satisfying our basic, utilitarian needs (like easy cleaning).

Guess which popular vehicle comes standard with a vinyl interior? The 2018 Chevrolet Silverado. There’s a split bench with room for three people. Check it out at your local AutoNation Chevrolet dealership.

Polyester/Microsuede
Most people like polyester or microsuede because it is soft to the touch and is often available in a variety of colors. Microsuede often feels just like suede and if most of us like to wear suede jackets and boots and buy couches and Lazyboy chairs made of microsuede, it only make sense that we like to outfit our cars in the same manner. Fans of the Dodge Durango are in luck as this year’s GT model comes drenched in microsuede and leather, which not only looks stylish but feels very high quality.

Leather
There is nothing like soft, creamy, premium leather. It smells good, it feels good, and once you have it in your car, it’s hard to go back to regular cloth upholstery. There’s a whole smorgasbord of choices when it comes to leather car seats and upholstery. There is a variety of different types of synthetic leather—we used to call it “pleather”—available, which in today’s day and age, is almost as good as the real thing, and is becoming more popular with the eco-conscious crowd.

Once upon a time, you could only get leather car seats with the higher trims or in luxury vehicles. This is changing. Take for instance, the 2018 BMW 5 Series. Synthetic leather comes standard. This is high-quality synthetic leather seat material. The seats are also power-adjustable. You always have the option of upgrading to heated, ventilated and massaging front seats in Nappa and Dakota leather upholstery. All this is very well and good because you can be the ultimate judge of synthetic leather seats when you stop in at your nearest AutoNation-affiliated BMW dealership today.